Al Bedsitter's Top 20 best Albums of 2011 (Part 1 of 3)

It's time for the annual top 20 best albums list that I have shared with John DefFrog (whose list is here) since time Immemorial.  I don't listen to every album that has ever been recorded and released, but damn, it is not for lack of trying.

As always, this list is maybe more of a "The albums that I spent the most time with' whether than any other comment on what a good album is or what I will be listening to in 20 years time.

Like last year, there is a lot of Americana.  This time there is a lot more noise; and as always, there's some alt-pop.

There seems to be quite a few of my favorite artists from the 1990s on here, too- but given Roxette had a Top 40 hit, Take That was the hottest reunion, and Traci Lords finally got one of her dance songs on the radio, I seem strangely okay with that.

Here goes:

British Sea Power- Valhalla Dancehall (Rough Trade)-  BSP has become a perennial Top 20 choice.  Like "Open Season", the band's second album, this feels like a bridge to the next phase.  As that album carried the band from it's strong debut to the career (so far) highpoint of 2008's Do You Like Rock Music.  Valhalla feels like a similar positioning.  There are some immediate rockers and some ambitious atmospheric pieces.  BSP continues to be one of the most interesting bands on the planet.

Crystal Stilts- In Love with Oblivion (Slumberland) - 2008's Alight of Night was one of my favorite debuts of recent years and really sold me on the not-safe-for-work named shitgaze movement.  For some reason that I can't understand, it took me awhile to get into Oblivion, but now I am completely sold.  The album keeps all the elements that made Alight such a great listen- reverb, garage rock organ, and Velvets jangle.  Oblivion matches Alight's high points by not radically changing the formula, but still sounding like a different album.  Singer Brad Hargett's vocals seem a little more out front and give it all a bit of goth vibe on top of that Velvets/J&M Chain/Paisley Underground sound, and really makes for a great discovery for the new listener.

Dangermouse and Daniele Luppi - Rome  (Capitol) - it seems like everything Danger mouse touches becomes incredibly riveting from DM + Jemini to Gorillaz to Gnarls Barkley.  Rome received mixed reviews from the critics, and may be an acquired tatse, but i really liked this album.  I find it a great start-to-end listen, and really a must for those who like their music on the overly melodramatic side.  Norah Jones and Jack White's performances are top-notch regardless of what you think of their day jobs.  My pick for the great unheralded album of 2011.

Danny & the Champions of the World- Hearts and Arrows (So) - You would be excused for mistaking this album for a Gaslight Anthem solo project (Even the cover looks like a GA album).  Like GA, its ambitious anthemic Springsteen rock, though they swap the Anthem's obsession with the Clash for an appreciation of early Tom Petty.  Not a very original template, but credit to D&tCotW for being as good at doing it as anyone.

Dears -Degeneration Street (Dangerbird) - The Dears captured everyone's attention with 2003's No Cities Left.  That album found the Canadian band reaching for the heights their Britpop influences had reached, and with a great set of songs they were able to do just that.  Saddled with the "Black Morrissey" moniker, singer Murray Lightburn and gang just weren't able to reach those heights again with the two subsequent albums.  Only with Degeneration Street, are they back in the ballpark.  The Smiths influence may still be there, but they have now successfully married it with some Radiohead atmospherics and both traditional prog rock and contemporary prog rock influences.

Steve Earle- I'll Never Get out of this world alive (New West) -  This one has been hailed as Earle's comeback, and I don't think that is necessarily wrong (The last couple of Earle albums didn't really do much for me).  Unfortunately this album does suffer in comparison (It immediately recalls 1995's Train a Comin, and no record is likely to be that good).  It also suffers in comparison as an album to Earle's string of must-own records from the late-90s.  Still, we are an iPod generation, and there are a lot of great single songs on this album that should make their way on anyone's playlist.


PJ Harvey - Let England Shake (Vagrant) - It seems to me that PJ Harvey albums become as good as ambitious as their titles are (Compare "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea" to "Uh huh her"), and Let England Shake is a tremendous title and a tremendous album.  This one has been pretty much universally hailed, but it's justifiable as it is PJ at her best.

Parts 2 and 3 to follow reasonably soon....

Al Bedsitter's Top 20 best Albums of 2011 (Part 2 of 3)

As promised, more.....

Ivy- All Hours (Nettwerk)- Ivy was a favorite band of the 90s.  Their cocktail-pop was a unique sound for that time.  There were many bands with similar influences, but it seemed like they all either went for gimmicky or being ironic.  I never pegged Ivy for mainstream success, but wouldn't have been surprised if one of their songs didn't catch on. Lest we forget, there were no iPod commericals in the 90s. (Ivy guitarist Adam Schlesinger did reach millions with Fountains of Wayne and "That Thing you do").  It was unexpected that a comeback like this (first album in six years, second album in ten years) would be as good as anything they have done, but it is; and there you have it.

 Nick Jaina -The Beanstalks That Have Brought Us Here Are Gone (Hush) - Jaina has been on my radar for a couple of years now, and I have to admit that I was kind of bummed that he brought in guest vocalists on this one (Jaina's voice is an acquired taste- as it isn't far off from a Tom Waits).  That aside, I think this is the strongest work of his I have heard.  The selection of singers (all female vocalists, mainly from Portland-area indie bands) range from good to great, and combine with Jaina's music to give a vibe similar to the Mark Lannegan/Isobel Campbell collaborations.

 David Lowery -The Palace Guards (429) - I was a big fan of the critically acclaimed, quirky Camper Van Beethoven and the commercially successful Cracker.  On his first solo album, Lowery manages to split the difference, and this album combines elements of both, but yet feels like something slightly different.  Lowery fans should be pleased, though admittedly, this album is a grower- you have to spend time with it.  Lowery's wit is sharp as ever, and the music should appeal to both Americana and FM rock fans.

J Mascis -Several Shades of Why (SubPop) - It's possible that I am a bigger Madcis fan now than when he was on top of the indie world.  The two recent Dinosaur Jr albums have been solid, and Mascis returns this year with an album that is every bit as good as those.  I had a bad taste with acoustic Mascis before (96's Martin and Me), but these songs are as well-thought out and put together as any of the Dino Jr stuff.  This one is another great mostly-undiscovered gem of 2011.

The Men- Leave Home (Sacred Bones)- 2011 isn't the year I finally learned to love noise, it just feels that way (The Men's labelmates Slug Guts appear on this list later on).  The Men took noise and made something inventive and melodic out of it, pulling from both the 80s No Wave bands like Sonic Youth as well as influence from the noisy college rock high of The Year Punk Broke bands like.. well, Sonic Youth.  Not quite everything on this album works, but at it's best like "Bataille", it's a s good as anything their heroes recorded.

Moby - Destroyed (Mute) - I was Moby fan slightly before and during the time when everyone loved him (and yes I do like that punchline of an album 1996's Animal Rights).  I have followed everything he has done since in his time in the limelight, and have been disappointed by the string of albums since (I can't imagine anyone ever says "Boy, I really want to listen to Hotel").  I was content that Moby was still making great art as a blogger, but I had started to give up on his discography.  Destroyed was the album that brought me back in.  Destroyed does harken back to that string of strong mid-to-late-90s albums- a lot of these songs could fit on Everything is Wrong or Play.  Still, it's nice to have Moby back.

Part 3....tomorrow